How could anyone forget the 2012 election, especially with it so fresh in our minds? And, better yet, who could forget Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate who ran against Barack Obama, committing an obnoxious amount of faux pas and news bite-worthy blunders along the way? If you require a quick summation or introduction into the marvelous world of Mitt Romney, just take a look at this and come back when you’re done.
One of the biggest blunders to come from the Romney campaign was a comment made by Romney at a private fundraising event, which was caught on video and released to the public. In the speech Romney gives, he infamously states:
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it… And they will vote for this president no matter what… These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. And he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
Obviously, this comment caused a huge uproar and cost Romney much support. In a statement made in Dan Balz’s upcoming book concerning the 2012 election, Romney even admitted to his faux pas, saying, “Well, clearly that was a very damaging quote and hurt my campaign effort.” He then went on to apologize for his misguided and rude words, asking for forgiveness and reaching out for a better understanding so that he might not be such a prick in the future.
Oh, wait. No he didn’t.
No. In actuality, Romney was quoted in the book’s excerpt as saying this:
“As I understood it, and as they described it to me, not having heard it, it was saying, ‘Look, the Democrats have 47 percent, we’ve got 45 percent, my job is to get the people in the middle, and I’ve got to get the people in the middle.’… And I thought, ‘Well, that’s a reasonable thing.’ … It’s not a topic I talk about in public, but there’s nothing wrong with it. They’ve got a bloc of voters, we’ve got a bloc of voters, I’ve got to get the ones in the middle. And I thought that that would be how it would be perceived — as a candidate talking about the process of focusing on the people in the middle who can either vote Republican or Democrat. As it turned out, down the road, it became perceived as being something very different.”
Mitt went on to say that the charming end to his speech about 47% of America not taking “personal responsibility” for their lives was false. He was quoted as saying, “Actually, I didn’t say that…. That’s how it began to be perceived, and so I had to ultimately respond to the perception, because perception is reality.”
So, there you have it. Mitt Romney finally commented on his 47% quote and… backpedaled. A lot. Right back on to his private jet, no doubt.
